


better, better

by cherryjaem



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 2019 fic project: march, Aged-Up Character(s), M/M, changbin and felix made a brief appearance, changlix too, contains small spoiler of how to train your dragon 3, minsung are together in this fic, theme: set-up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 07:43:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18545338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherryjaem/pseuds/cherryjaem
Summary: Seungmin has been single for a while. Jisung and Minho want to set him up with a friend but Seungmin is not interested.





	better, better

**Author's Note:**

> as i said in the tags, this fic contains spoilers for how to train your dragon 3!!! so if you haven't watched the movie and don't want to see spoilers, be careful i guess 😂
> 
> i started this fic in march, to be posted on the same month but oh, look at the date now! it's already nearing the end of april lol. OH WELL. the fic might sound a little disjointed because there was a long gap of not writing it, but i still hope it's something you can still enjoy. apologies for any typos/errors that i might have overlooked.
> 
> the title of the fic is unrelated and unoriginal haha. taken from a day6's song of the same name, because i don't know what else to name the story orz

Seungmin doesn’t know why he’s here. He supposes he missed hanging out with Jisung, hence why he’d agree to go out to meet his best friend, but now that said best friend is not even here- something about getting summoned for a sudden meeting with his fellow music producers in the company so he had to bail on Seungmin on the very last minute. Now, Seungmin is stuck in the booth at his favorite ramen place with none other than the Lee Minho; Jisung’s boyfriend of 3 months now.

 

It’s awkward. _Very_ awkward- at least on Seungmin’s side because he is just awkward around people in general. Although he knows Minho (duh), he’s never left alone with the said guy before as their other friends are always present with them. Seungmin doesn’t know what to do now, doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t know Minho that well enough to start conversation on topics Minho would like to participate in.

 

“You don’t have to stay here, you know?” Seungmin starts, shifting uncomfortably in his seat when Minho looks up at him from his phone. “You can totally ditch our plan today, too.”

 

“Now why would I do that?” Minho grins, the curl of his lips almost cat-like. He puts down his phone and clasps his hands together on the table as he gives his full attention on Seungmin. “Jisung might not be here, but we can still have fun. ‘Sides, I think it’s a perfect opportunity to get to know my boyfriend’s best friend better.”

 

“Uh. Okay,” is only what Seungmin manages to say. The waitress walks over their table to get their orders and once she’s done, silence falls around the table again.

 

“Loosen up, Seungmin,” Minho chuckles, startling Seungmin a little. Minho is older than Jisung and Seungmin by 2 years, so Seungmin naturally feels a little intimidated around him even as a 26-year old. “I don’t eat people.”

 

“I sure hope not,” Seungmin mumbles but Minho hears it nonetheless, if his high-pitched laugh is an indication enough.

 

“Really, though. Relax. We can talk about something you’re comfortable with, if you want? Or someone we know.”

 

“Jisung?”

 

“Jisung,” Minho affirms with a smile and the nods of his head. So they talk about Jisung as they wait for their orders to arrive- about how Seungmin met the guy older than him by a week, how they became from strangers to friends to best friends. They share anecdotes of Jisung’s embarrassing moments, but they also talk about how cute Jisung is sometimes, about how he stores his food in his cheeks like a squirrel does when he eats, about his sleeping habits and even about how talented he is in writing and in music. Seungmin is very fond of his best friend even though he doesn’t show or admit it enough, and looking at Minho talking about Jisung with hearts and sparkles in his eyes like this makes Seungmin feels warm and happy for Jisung. Minho seems like a great guy who genuinely likes Jisung and Seungmin is glad to know his best friend is in good hands.

 

“So, you seeing anyone right now?” Minho wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. “Maybe next time, we could go on a double date.” Seungmin snorts at this and pushes his now empty bowl aside. He’s feeling more relaxed around Minho now after bonding with him about Jisung, the atmosphere around them a lot more comfortable than it was an hour ago. Seungmin takes the napkin to wipe his mouth first before replying.

 

“Nah,” Seungmin says. Seungmin broke up with his lover of 2 years when he was 18, and that was already around 8 years ago. He’s been single since then, deciding to focus on his studies and then on building up his career once he graduated. Seungmin likes the freedom and solitude that comes with the state of being single as well, so he doesn't really miss being in a relationship that much. “I’ve been single for about 8 years now.”

 

Minho all but gasps at this, his eyes widening slightly. A little dramatic of a reaction, if Seungmin was to be honest about it, even though he gets this reaction a lot when he tells people about his love life (or lack thereof). “Really?”

 

“Yeah,” Seungmin smiles politely.

 

Minho mouths a silent _wow_ at this, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “That’s amazing but don’t you feel lonely?”

 

“Not really,” Seungmin slightly tilts his head to the side as he thinks about it. “Sometimes, I do kind of wish I have a lover but it’s never really a need? Just a passing thought, if that makes sense.”

 

Minho hums thoughtfully, and then smiles as he says: “So, you’re single and happy?”

 

Seungmin returns the smile. “Very single, and very happy.”

 

~*~

 

“Which part of ‘very single and very happy’ from our conversation once upon a time ago that you did not understand, Minho?” Seungmin rolls his eyes. He’s grown closer to Minho over the span of a month after the fateful lunch at the ramen shop. After that day, Seungmin often gets invited to join Jisung and Minho for lunch or dinner. Sometimes, other friends would join them as well, but most times, it’s just the three of them, like right now. They’d meet up for lunch break and now are getting coffee and cakes for desserts at a cafe, which is also where Minho dropped the bomb about wanting to set Seungmin up on a blind date with someone he knew.

 

“Told you he would be against the idea, babe,” Minho chuckles as he turns away to look at Jisung, lightly patting his hand on Jisung’s cheek. Seungmin narrows suspicious eyes at the couple and their scheming ways. Who knows what else they have up their sleeves.

 

“But, Seungmin!” Jisung whines. Seungmin can’t believe this guy is older than him, even just by a week. “Hyunjin is just like you. He _looks_ like you. Well. Kind of. And you know what people say about people looking similar with each other?”

 

“That they’re Asians?”

 

Minho bursts out laughing out loud, while Jisung whines in frustration. Seungmin’s lips curl in mischief, enjoying driving Jisung up the walls.

 

“Stop being racist and making stereotypical comments, even if you’re Asian yourself.”

 

“Oh, they must be blood-related? Share the same genes?” Seungmin easily ignores what Jisung had just said to him.

 

“ _No_ , you absolute fool. It means you’re fated together. Soulmates!”

 

Skeptical, Seungmin scrunches his nose. “Says who? Sounds like a fraud,” he says, eyes flitting at Jisung and then at Minho. He has something witty to say about them, but decides that it’s better to swallow his comment than to stoop so low to get back at his friend, so Seungmin shoves a large piece of cheesecake into his mouth instead.

 

“Why don’t you try meeting him first, Seungmin?” Minho steps in. “See how it is first. Maybe you’ll get along well right off the bat.”

 

“Yeah! I’m telling you, Hyunjin is cute and an amazing person,” Jisung agrees with Minho, leaning to press a soft kiss on Minho’s cheek when the older guy makes a face at Jisung’s comment. “You’re cuter though.”

 

“Gross,” Seungmin fake-gags in an attempt to stop the smile from appearing on his face. He refuses to show to his friends that he thinks they’re cute together. Nope.

 

“He’s someone I’d trust my life with so you don’t have to worry about us setting you up with a bad guy. He’s a really sweet and great person.”

 

“Oh, he’s bad with direction though but that’s just it,” Jisung adds in and snickers with Minho. Seungmin arches an eyebrow up at the obvious inside joke his friends are sharing, half-hating the fact that he doesn’t get what they’re laughing about. It’s not time to be petty, though, so Seungmin takes another huge bite on his cake.

 

“And you guys have a lot in common!” Seungmin sighs quietly when Jisung continues on. It doesn’t seem like they’re stopping soon and Seungmin wants nothing more than to just walk out of the cafe by now. “You both like photography. You both like travelling. You both like reading and, and get this! He likes Day6, too!”

 

“Sounds like a keeper,” Seungmin says, voice dripping with sarcasm. He’s getting mildly annoyed now. He appreciates his friends’ gesture and intention, but Seungmin is really just not interested. “Look,” Seungmin exhales deeply and puts the fork down to lick the cream off of his lips with his tongue before continuing: “I’m sure this Hyunjin is a great guy and I know you mean well but I just. I’m not interested and I’m really fine with the way things are. I’m not in a rush to be in a relationship right now.”

 

Jisung and Minho look at each other, and then at Seungmin. Jisung sighs in resignation and nods his head in understanding. “I get it. I’m sorry if we were being too pushy. I just didn’t want you to feel lonely.”

 

Seungmin has to smile at this, softly and with sincerity. “I’m not lonely. I chose to be single and I’m happy with my decision. There’s a lot of other important things to focus on instead of just on love and relationships for me. Besides, I have you guys. I’m never lonely.”

 

“Well maybe we just wanted you to find someone so you’ll stop crashing on our dates,” Minho grins playfully, joking to lighten up the mood again. It works because Jisung is laughing and even Seungmin laughs after sputtering incredulously at the older guy.

 

“I’m not crashing anyone’s date! _You_ guys invite _me_.”

 

“Yeah, because we pity your single ass.”

 

“Okay, I’m done with you guys. I’m leaving,” Seungmin gathers his things and stands up to leave, but both Jisung and Minho are quick to grab his arms, laughing and apologizing to him. Seungmin smiles because he’s not really mad at his friends so he pats his hands on theirs. “I really have to leave and head back to the office, though. I have so many works to complete today.”

 

“Before you go, I’m going to be annoying and say: if you change your mind, you can always tell me and I can give you Hyunjin’s number.”

 

Seungmin rolls his eyes and quickly finishes his cake while putting the strap of his sling bag on as he is in hurry to head back to his office. He needs to get there before his manager does to avoid any lectures about commitments and punctuality. “Yeah, not gonna happen. Bye!” He waves his hand goodbye and rushes out to catch his bus when he sees it arriving at the bus stop.

 

~*~

 

Seungmin is already comfortable in bed, half-way into his one hour of reading a book every night before sleep time, when his phone rings. He knows that ringtone and contemplates on ignoring the call, but the rational part of him reasons that it could be important. With a sigh, Seungmin reaches for his phone on the nightstand and answers the call, putting it on speaker mode.

 

“This better be important, Han,” Seungmin flips the book to a new page. Jisung makes a weird noise on the other end, and then “Train Your Dragon 3, this Friday. You in?”

 

Seungmin perks up at this, carelessly dropping the book on the mattress and straightening his back as he grabs his phone into his hand. “Wait, it already premiered at the cinemas?”

 

“Yes! Today, apparently. I haven’t been keeping up with the updates but I was informed by Minho just now.”

 

“Damn, it slipped my mind, too. But I’m free this Friday,” Seungmin confirms after briefly going through his schedules in his head. “I have to work until 7 though, I think. We’ll have internal meeting that day after office hours.”

 

“What the heck? Can’t you guys have that meeting _during_ working hours?”

 

“They don’t wanna interrupt working hours and productivity at work,” Seungmin rolls his eyes.

 

“So they’d rather interrupt your personal time instead? For _free_?”

 

“ _I know_ ,” Seungmin sighs dramatically. Even Seungmin thinks it’s ridiculous, but it’s something he has gotten used to over the years. Besides, the meeting only happens once every 3 months, so Seungmin is not too bothered about it (anymore). “But anyway. Yeah. Friday?”

 

“Friday,” Jisung confirms. “We’re looking at the 10pm slot. You okay with that?”

 

“Fine with me.”

 

“Alright. And one more thing…”

 

“What?”

 

“Minho’s...friend will be there. He’s the one inviting us all to watch the movie, actually. Just came back from his one-month Japan trip.”

 

“Oh okay,” Seungmin replies nonchalantly. He doesn’t mind that since they will all be inside the cinema anyway, leaving little to no room to socialize much- maybe just a polite introduction and few small talks. Seungmin figures he’ll just sit next to Jisung or any of their other friends he’s more familiar with. “That’s cool.”

 

“Yeah. It’s...Hyunjin.”

 

“Hyunjin?” Seungmin echoes, the name ringing a bell. “Wait, is this the same Hyunjin you guys were-”

 

“Yeap,” Jisung answers.

 

“Jisung-”

 

“We’re not setting you up or anything, I swear to god!” Jisung quickly denies. “That’s why I’m telling you now so you don’t misunderstand my intention of inviting you with us. I invited you because we promised to watch the movie together, remember? And the movie is finally here! I’m so excited to watch it with you!” Jisung exclaims excitedly. He sounds genuine that Seungmin thinks Jisung is really telling him the truth. Seungmin shrugs it off and says “okay” before the two of them fall into excited chatter about the movie. They have been a fan of the movie since the first installment and even when they’re already fully grown up, they both still love the movie a lot.

 

They only halt their conversation when Seungmin’s alarm clock rings.

 

“What is that?”

 

“My alarm to go to sleep,” Seungmin tells his best friend. He lifts the book up and puts it on the nightstand after turning the alarm off. Then his glasses comes next.

 

Jisung wheezes a laugh and says “You have an alarm _to go to sleep_?”

 

“Shut up. _You_ should set one, too, so you’d remember to go to sleep,” Seungmin yawns and turns the lights off, pulling the blanket to cover himself as he lies down on the bed.

 

“Sleep is for the weak! Do you want us to pick you up this Friday, by the way?”

 

“That won’t be necessary,” Seungmin mumbles sleepily, eyelids drooping close. “I’ll meet you guys there. Just let me know when you have finalized the time and place.”

 

“Roger. Go to sleep. Good night, Seung!”

 

“Night, Ji,” Seungmin greets back, dozing off immediately after he hangs up the call.

 

~*~

 

I’m here

Let me know when you’ve arrived

 

**Han Jisung**

Got it!

We’re already on our way

Can you get us 2 boxes of large sweet popcorn

And 2 sets of chicken nuggets with coke

Wait Minho wants coke zero

 

Fuck off

 

And 1 beef nachos please

Thanks~

 

FINE

But you’re paying me back

 

We’ll pay with our love

:*

 

Seungmin refuses to reply that, opting to roll his eyes instead and pocketing his phone while quietly joining the line. There’s still half an hour left before the show starts, but Seungmin is glad he’s already here because the lines to get the snacks are long that night despite having 2 counters open. Even after ordering and paying, Seungmin still has to wait for the chicken nuggets (he didn’t get the beef nachos on purpose) at the waiting counter.

 

Seungmin waits at the furthest end of the counter, leaving their drinks on the said surface and munching on Jisung’s popcorn just because he can. That’s when a guy shuffles closer, hugging 3 large drinks with one arm while carrying 3 equally large portion of popcorn in a plastic bag in his other hand. The drinks look dangerously close to slipping from his arm that Seungmin reflexively reaches his hand out to help.

 

“Oh my God. Thanks,” the guy says, settling the bag of popcorns onto the counter and then carefully placing the two drinks next to the popcorns, before reaching out for the third drink from Seungmin’s hand. Seungmin notices the drink had spilled a little onto the guy’s hoodie, to which Seungmin recognizes is from Romantic Crown (what a good taste) and can’t help but feel amused because Seungmin himself is wearing a hoodie from the same brand as well.

 

“Designated snacks purchaser?” Seungmin asks. The guy laughs and the grin on his face makes his eyes turn to pretty half-moon shapes.

 

“You too, huh?” he asks back, basically confirming that yes, he’s the one in charge of getting the snacks for his friends. “Mind if I wait here? My friends should be here soon. There’s no way I’m carrying these around with me.”

 

“Not at all. It’s a free waiting area after all,” Seungmin smiles and the guy smiles gratefully back at him. Silence falls around them, but it’s not uncomfortable, especially when they’re both busy minding their own businesses- Seungmin opts to people watch while _still_ munching on Jisung’s popcorn and the guy’s scrolling down his phone, head bobbing along to the faint music playing at the snack bar. It’s not until his friends arrive that the silence is broken again, Jisung’s loud “Kim Seungmin!” greets Seungmin’s ears.

 

“Yah, do you know what time it is now-” Seungmin’s ready to rant but he’s stopped confused on his spot when Felix (Changbin(Jisung’s coworker-slash-friend and therefore is Seungmin’s friend too)’s boyfriend) all but runs into the arms of the guy who’s been waiting in the same area with Seungmin.

 

“So, you guys have met, eh?” Minho grins as he approaches Seungmin with Jisung, the same time Felix says “I’ve missed you, Hyunjin!” causing Seungmin to whip his head up to meet his gaze with the guy’s. Wait, what?! This guy is Hyunjin?

 

For a brief second, a thought that Jisung and Minho might have plotted something again but with Hyunjin this time crosses his mind, but that thought disappears just as quick when Hyunjin looks genuinely surprised and confused as well that Minho and Jisung know Seungmin and are talking to him.

 

“I missed you too, Lixie,” Hyunjin replies distractedly, his hand patting Felix’s back. “You guys _know_ each other?” Hyunjin then directs his question to Jisung and Minho.

 

“This is my best friend, Seungmin!” Jisung is grinning now too, tip-toeing a little as he drapes his arm on Seungmin’s shoulder. Seungmin rolls his eyes and shoves the popcorn to Jisung’s chest. “Hey, half of this is already gone!” Jisung frowns at the half empty box. Seungmin only shrugs and passes the other snacks to the couple.

 

“Can we go now? The movie is starting in 5 minutes,” he says.

 

“What about my chicken nuggets?”

 

“Oh, right. They’re still cooking them I think.”

 

“Okay,” Minho takes out movie tickets from his back pocket and distributes them around. “Why don’t you go in first while we wait for our nuggets.”

 

“Fine with me,” Seungmin takes the ticket and gives Minho the receipt for them to claim their food. “See you guys inside!”

 

Seungmin walks briskly towards the entrance of the cinema halls, unintentionally leaving his friends behind. As he waits in the line, it suddenly clicks in his head that he hasn’t introduced himself properly to Hyunjin. Not that Hyunjin’s introduced himself to Seungmin either, but Seungmin still feels a little bad. He turns around to apologize, but Hyunjin’s talking animatedly to Changbin and Felix so Seungmin figures he could just do it later.

 

The cinema is already half-filled when Seungmin enters. He finds his seat without any problem and makes himself comfortable there. Looking around, Seungmin is pleased that they chose this time slot as he observes that the cinema is filled with no actual children; only those children at heart like he is. He puts his drink in the drink holder, absentmindedly watching the movie trailers on the screen, until he feels someone sitting down next to him.

 

“Hi,” Hyunjin says, putting his own drink in the drink holder as he settles himself on the seat next to Seungmin’s. Hyunjin came alone that Seungmin immediately turns around to look for his other friends. He sees Felix and Changbin settling on the couple seats two rows behind theirs, talking quietly amongst themselves and not noticing Seungmin looking at them. Of course those two would pick the couple seats.

 

“I thought we were sitting together,” Seungmin says as he turns to Hyunjin. “Also, hi,” he belatedly greets back.

 

Hyunjin snorts a giggle and pops a popcorn into his mouth. “I thought so too, but I guess they’ll die if they don’t cuddle while watching the movie.” Seungmin laughs softly at that and Hyunjin stops munching to wipe his hand on his jean and then holding it out for a handshake. “I’m Hyunjin,” he says. Not that Seungmin doesn’t already know, but he smiles anyway and gives a firm shake of his hand.

 

“I’m Seungmin.”

 

~*~

 

Halfway into the movie, Seungmin realizes that Jisung and Minho never come to sit next to him. He briefly turns around again, and sure enough Jisung and Minho are sitting in the couple seats too, cuddled up to each other with blankets covering them. Seungmin huffs and turns back to the screen, mildly jealous that he doesn’t have blanket to cover himself (he’s cold too, okay?) and that his best friend is sitting so far away from him. So much for wanting to watch the movie together. Well, technically, they _are_ watching the movie together, but Jisung is not within his reach and that sucks. Seungmin is not clingy per se, but he likes holding on to someone from time to time, feeling and touching their presence next to him, and god dammit, he wants to cuddle too.

 

But Seungmin is enjoying the movie, though. So is Hyunjin and the rest of the people in there. The movie is filled with a little action, funny and lighthearted moments that make Seungmin smiles and forgets the stress in his life. When a scene of Toothless looking at Hiccup as if asking for permission from him to pursue the white female dragon and Hiccup saying that it’s okay if Toothless wants to go, Seungmin had even almost tear up at that but manages to control himself.

 

Towards the end of the movie though, when the dragons have to leave the village to move to The Hidden World for their safety and Hiccup has to say goodbye to Toothless, Seungmin can’t help the few tears escaping his eyes. He cried a lot with Jisung during the second movie, but he’s not with Jisung right now and has no one to hold to so Seungmin bites on his trembling lower lip and carefully dabs the tears away with the sleeves of his hoodie. He hears a sob next to him and shifting his head to the side, he realizes Hyunjin is crying and he's crying  _a lot_.

 

Seungmin blinks at Hyunjin, and then at the screen, and then back at Hyunjin, not knowing what exactly to do. “Are you okay?” he whispers, not wanting to bother other people in the cinema. His question only makes Hyunjin sobs and whimpers more though, and Seungmin panics slightly.

 

“I’m okay,” Hyunjin manages to mumble, wiping his tears and snot with the sleeves of his hoodie. Not knowing what else to do, Seungmin offers his hand to Hyunjin, to which Hyunjin gladly takes in his to give it a thankful squeeze.

 

When Hyunjin cries again when Hiccup meets Toothless after getting married and having kids of his own, Seungmin can’t help but smile this time. _Such a crybaby,_ he thinks to himself but squeezes Hyunjin’s hand back to give him some comfort.

 

~*~

 

Seungmin almost laughs when he meets up with his friends outside of the cinema hall and sees that all three of them except Minho has red eyes and nose from crying so much.

 

“It wasn’t even that bad!” Seungmin teases. Honestly, he would cry a lot too had he not been busy silently comforting Hyunjin, but he’s a little shit that would not pass the chance to tease his friends. Jisung makes a face at him and snuggles closer to Minho, who laughs airily and rubs comforting hand down Jisung’s back. Even Felix is hugging with Hyunjin, remnants of unshed tears in their eyes, while Changbin’s left to use the toilet. Speaking of which, now Seungmin realizes he also has a full bladder and needs to pee. “I have to use the toilet,” he announces and leaves his friends to go to the restroom.

 

He doesn’t meet Changbin on his way there, nor does he see him in the toilet. He figures with the amount of  people still loitering around the place, it’s possible that he had failed to spot Changbin in that crowd of people. After peeing and washing his hands clean, he meets Hyunjin outside of the restroom.

 

“Do you have to use the toilet?” Seungmin asks. Hyunjin looks up from his phone and straightens up from leaning against the wall, shaking his head with a small smile on his face.

 

“I was waiting for you,” he says and quickly explains: “We’re getting late dinner at Woojin’s family’s restaurant.”

 

“Wait, where are the others? Did they leave without us?” Seungmin looks around for his friends.

 

“They did,” Hyunjin confirms. “It’s okay. The place is not that far from here. Only about 3 to 5 minutes away.” He beckons towards a direction and leads the way, and Seungmin follows without a word.

 

As soon as they step out from the building, the silence surrounding them is heavy. God, Seungmin doesn’t want this to be awkward, but he doesn’t know what to do or say to break the silence. And he wasn’t the one who cried in the cinema, so why is he the one feeling shy?

 

“It was a great movie, yeah?” Hyunjin glances at Seungmin, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. Seungmin looks up to briefly meet his gaze with Hyunjin’s before nodding and looking away. “Thanks for...you know.”

 

Seungmin gives a small smile. “It’s no problem at all.”

 

“I just cry easily,” Hyunjin shrugs.

 

“Jisung does too. It’s okay,” Seungmin assures. “I was going to cry but I held it in.”

 

“You didn’t have to lie. I saw you cry.”

 

“...Okay, maybe I cried a little.” Hyunjin laughs at this, the sound high-pitched and the grin on his face makes his eyes curls into pretty crescent moon shapes. It makes Seungmin smiles too. He learns quickly that Hyunjin has the kind of laughter that makes other people laugh or smile too. It’s cute.

 

When Hyunjin’s laughter subsides, it gives way for the silence to settle in again. It’s not awkward this time. At least, Seungmin doesn’t feel it is. The silence is short-lived though, as Hyunjin says: “So, Minho and Jisung wanted to set us up, huh?”

 

“Wait, they told you about this too?” Seungmin widens his eyes in shock, and then laughs at how silly his question sounded. “No, never mind. _Of course_ Jisung and Minho told you about it and tried to talk you into it as well.”

 

The understanding smile and sympathetic gaze on Hyunjin’s side only confirms Seungmin’s statement. “I told them I wasn’t interested to get into relationship right now.”

 

“That’s what I told them too!” Seungmin exclaims. “I know they mean well, but in general, I’m honestly tired of people thinking that I’d be happier if I were in a relationship. Not everyone aims for relationship, you know?”

 

Hyunjin quickly agrees with the nods of his head, seemingly delighted that he’s met someone who shares the same sentiment with him. “Exactly,” he says. “You don’t have to be in a relationship to be happy. There’s _so_ many things to indulge yourself in other than in love and relationships. I mean, I have nothing against people in a relationship, and if they’re happy then good for them. But for me? I’m happy with the way I am and where I am in life right now. Why can’t people understand that? Is it really that hard to believe?”

 

“I know what you mean,” Seungmin groans in agreement. “But you know what?”

 

“What?”

 

“I’m glad that we met anyway,” Seungmin grins, and he honestly means what he said. Hyunjin seems like a good guy and he will trust Jisung and Minho’s judgement on people. He can see himself being good friends with Hyunjin, thinks that they will get along well. By the way Hyunjin’s grinning back at him, he knows Hyunjin thinks the same.

 

“Yeah, you seem kinda cool I guess,” Hyunjin shrugs with feigned disinterest.

 

“I held your hand as you cried even though it was the first time we met. That already made me one cool _and_ sweet guy.”

 

Hyunjin laughs the same high-pitched laugh again, which in turn makes Seungmin laugh, too. They easily fall into other conversations after that, because as Jisung said, both Hyunjin and him have a lot of common interests.

 

Perhaps, at the end of the day, Seungmin still doesn’t want to be in a relationship. He didn’t get a boyfriend out of this just like Jisung and Minho had hoped, _but_ he gains a new friend, someone who he can relates to and have easy conversations with, and Seungmin is thankful for  _that_.

 

~*~

 

(“Hyunjin, hold on. Where are we?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I thought you said the place is only 3 to 5 minutes away? I think we’ve been walking for a while now…”

 

“Wait, isn’t this the way to the restaurant?”

 

“...How would I know that? I’m not the one who’s been there before.”

 

“...Shit. I don’t know where we are right now.”

 

A burst of incredulous laugh. “Hold on, let me ask for direction from Jisung.” “...Hyunjin.”

 

“What?”

 

“It’s on the opposite side of the cinema building.”

 

“How is that possible?”

 

“So the rumors are true. You _really_ don’t have a sense of direction.”

 

“So the rumors are true. You _are_ mean.”)

  



End file.
